Norman Murray | |
|---|---|
| Born | Los Angeles, California |
| Awards | Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics |
| Academic background | |
| Education | BSc, 1979, California Institute of Technology PhD, 1986, University of California, Berkeley |
| Thesis | Diffusion in Hamiltonian Systems with Applications to Twist Maps and the Two Beam Accelerator (1986) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Toronto Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics California Institute of Technology |
| Website | www |
Norman William Murray FRSC is an American theoretical astrophysicist. He is a Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto and former director of the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics. Murray is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,American Astronomical Society,National Academy of Sciences,Royal Society of Canada,and American Physical Society.
Murray was born in Los Angeles,California. [1] He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and his PhD from the University of California,Berkeley. [2] He began focusing on nonlinear dynamics during his graduate studies and continued in that field as postdoctoral researcher at Queen Mary University of London. [3] [4] After reaching out to astronomer Peter Goldreich,Murray was offered a second postdoctoral position at Caltech. [4] In this role,he helped Goldreich develop a theory on how solar p-mode oscillation frequencies vary in response to changes in the Sun's internal entropy and magnetic fields. [5] [6]
Murray left California in 1993 to accept a faculty position at the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA),which was based out of the University of Toronto (U of T). [1] His early research at CITA focused on understanding how the intense light of a quasar,an extremely luminous active galactic nucleus,drives winds. [7] [8] This later developed into investigating how the radiation from star formation or active galactic nuclei can regulate the growth and luminosity of galaxies through momentum-driven winds. [9] His early career research earned him the 1999 Newcomb Cleveland Award and a 2000 Province of Ontario Premier's Research Excellence Award. [10] He was also appointed a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Theoretical Astrophysics at U of T. [1]
In 2006,Murray was appointed Director of CITA. [10] He was also elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society for his "fundamental contributions to the theory of active galactic nuclei,black hole and star formation in galactic disks,planet formation,and the dynamics of planetary systems." [11] While serving as director of CITA, [10] Murray renewed his Canada Research Chair at U of T in 2008 and 2014. [12] [13] Throughout his tenure at UofT and CITA,Murray shifted his focus to black holes,protoplanetary disks,and Earth's thermal tides. [7] After stepping down as director in 2016, [10] Murray was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science [10] and Royal Society of Canada for his advanced research on astronomical problems. [14] In 2022,he received the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics. [7]
In 2025,Murray was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences [15] and American Astronomical Society. [16] He was also one of 30 international researchers appointed a Member of the National Academy of Sciences. [17]